Smart paint for a cooler cabin

At a time when innovation and technological one upmanship is king, Nissan has begun trialling pioneering paint technology that is claimed to lower a vehicle's ambient cabin temperature in the summer and reduces the energy usage of the air conditioning system.

Developed in partnership with material specialist Radi-Cool the new paint incorporates metamaterial, an advanced new synthetic composite material with a structure that is said to exhibit properties not found in nature.

To prove the ultra-reflective paint works, Nissan has already undergone a 12-month trial at Tokyo International Airport using a Nissan NV100 service vehicle operated by All Nippon Airways (ANA).

The airport was chosen for real-world testing because of its large open tarmac that exposed the new paint's reaction when subjected to high temperatures.

Compared to regular paint, the new Nissan cool paint boasts exterior temperatures 12-degrees centigrade lower than an untreated car, and the interior five degrees cooler.

As well as being cooler, the new paint also boosts overall vehicle efficiency says Nissan, as it requires less air-conditioning run-time to chill the cabin to a comfortable temperature.

If you're wondering how the new tech works, Nissan says that when light shines on the paint's surface and encounters the metamaterial's unique structure, two things happen.

The first is that near-infrared rays are reflected into the atmosphere and the second is that instead of the sun's energy vibrating the resin particles (raising the surface temperature) the special paint creates electromagnetic waves that are then radiated away from the surface.

Combined, the particles in Nissan's cool paint reduce the transfer of heat that warms the interior.

"My dream is to create cooler cars without consuming energy," says Nissan's Advanced Materials boss, Susumu Miura.

"This is especially important in the EV era, where the load from running air-conditioning in summer can have a sizable impact on the state of charge," he said.

Cool paint already exists in the building industry but the challenge for car-maker's, says Muira, has been developing a version that works with a clear topcoat, one that can be applied via a spray gun and meets the car-maker's rigorous standards for paint quality.

Said to have been in development since 2021, Nissan has tested more than 100 samples.

Initially, Muira thinks the tech should first be applied to light commercial vehicles, such as vans, trucks and ambulance that spend most of the day out driving before rolling it out to passenger cars.

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